The State of Equanimity

[Guest guest]

AUM SAI RAM

 

One day a young and very handsome Prince

went to see Lord Vishnu, the Almighty God and said:

'I want to live a life full of beauty by

the side of God!'

Lord Vishnu said:

'Ok, if you wish to live magnificently by the side of

God, you may do so but first, let me put you to a test.'

Pointing to a road, Lord Vishnu said:

'Go down this road, if you see anything

which is not beautiful, lift it with both hands and put it aside!'

The Prince went down the road. He saw a

dog, he said:

'There is beauty in this dog!'

He next saw a leper, he said:

'There is beauty in this leper!'

Then he saw a prostitute. He said:

'There is beauty in this woman!'

Suddenly, in the midst of the road, he saw

a piece of excrement. He exclaimed:

'Ugh!

(An expression of disgust)' In my path! Excrement!'

He hurriedly bent down to pick it up and to

remove it, when the excrement cried out:

'Stop! Don't touch me!'

The prince was shocked and taken aback:

'What, you… you are excrement and you speak

to me with so much arrogance! Do you know who I am? Do you think it pleases me

to lift you, dirty thing with my hands?'

'Yes, I know who you are because you are a

Prince; but you do not know who I am!'

The excrement continued:

'Yesterday I was a beautiful nectarine on

that tree over there; my aroma was spreading all over the neighbourhood; then

came a man who was very hungry; he picked me up and ate me; see what I have

become! If a second man were to touch me, I will become twice as dirty and ugly.

So please, leave me alone!'

The young Prince listened in silence. He

saw the Light. He understood for what reason Lord Vishnu had put him to the

test.

The Almighty Lord Vishnu then appeared

before him and said:'You can live a life of beauty by the side

of God when you have reached the state of Equanimity!"

 

The Ultimate Goal of Life is to attain the

state of equanimity when the Awaken One sees both the rich and the poor, both

the intellectual and the illiterate, both the prostitute and the pious woman,both the beautiful and the ugly,both the clean and the dirty

and both the bad and the good as God's creations.

He sees Purity both in the sacred

water of the Holy Ganges and in the soiled water of the gutter.

At the Lotus Feet of Sai

Anita